Archive for November, 2013

Let’s honor 50th anniversary of masters track at 2016 indoor worlds!

USATF shared big news today — that the IAAF had chosen Portland, Oregon, to host the World Indoor Track & Field Championships in 2016. Of course, my one-track brain automatically thought “masters exhibitions!” So I mulled what event might be good for WMA and USATF to push. No contest: a masters mile! Turns out that […]

November 15, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  16 Comments

Major marks missing in list of masters records submitted for OK

Sandy Pashkin, as USATF masters records chair, has submitted a list of 127 American age-group records for approval by the overall Records Committee at the annual meeting next month in Indy. (See list here.) Included were high jump marks from the 2012 Olympic Trials — Amy Acuff’s W35 1.95 (6-4 3/4) and Jamie Nieto’s M35 […]

November 13, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  12 Comments

145 friends and family surprise Nick Newton with 80th birthday party

Nick Newton, a Masters Hall of Famer, rode down a ramp Saturday in a spanking new electric cart, replacing a wheelchair. He had marked his 80th birthday three days earlier, and wasn’t expecting the scene that unfolded before him. Some 145 friends and family members, invited by his daughter Pam Crisp, broke into “Happy Birthday” […]

November 11, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

Budapest indoor worlds deadline is Feb. 3, 2014, website reports

Hungary is hungry for your entry fee to indoor worlds. The LOC website is locked and loaded. As usual, registration and related costs aren’t cheap. But at least Budapest appears ready to deliver on its promise of a high-class WMA world indoor championships. See the download site for PDFs of the entry booklet (in several […]

November 9, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  12 Comments

Why M65 star Roger Pierce scratched from worlds 200 semifinal

Jean DePlacido of the Salem News in Massachusetts has a nice column on Team USA members Diane Pomeroy and her coach, Roger Pierce, who brought home a lot of hardware from Porto Alegre. I love to learn about details of the Brazil experience, such as: “Pierce advanced to the semifinals in the 100 and 200, […]

November 8, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  11 Comments

Thousands of Porto Alegre photos posted! Not too shabby, Shaggy

M60 steepler Doug Smith of Ontario calls himself Shaggy Smith — partly for his long locks but also to distinguish himself from other masters athletes of the same name. He’s been shooting major meets for many years but really outdid himself at Porto Alegre. He’s posted thousands of shots, and they’re available for downloading, he […]

November 6, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Ad’s mystery M100 WR holder inspired by marathoner Fauja Singh?

This headline caught my eye: A 101 Year Old Marathon Runner Discovered The Secret Behind Limitless Energy!!! The advertisement, disguised as a news story, carries a picture of a tanned, balding older gent running toward you, green hills in the background. But the text provides no name of the centenarian. Just clues: “What was more […]

November 5, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

IAAF rejected Daegu indoor track, but it’s fine for 2017 worlds

Last week, WMA formally announced that its General Assembly had awarded 2017 indoor worlds to Daegu, South Korea. It was no surprise, since it had no competition. Daegu should be well-run, since Korea is rich economically and experienced in big meets. IAAF worlds were there in 2011, you’ll recall. According to a July inspection report, […]

November 4, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  5 Comments

Number of U.S. masters relay records would double under proposal

Delegates to the USATF annual meeting next month in Indy will consider 97 proposals for rules changes. See the 22-page PDF. Several caught my eye involving masters track. Quarter-mile world champion Robert Thomas suggested that American relay records be kept in five-year age groups rather than 10-year. Reasoning: “Documentation of American records is to coincide […]

November 3, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  2 Comments

Christa Bortignon accounts for her Best Master season in Q&A

Canada’s Christa Bortignon, recently chosen as Best Masters Athlete of 2013 (along with Charles Allie), shares her secrets in a quickie Q&A. But one tidbit stuck out: She was an accountant (and still works part-time). “When I started out, there were not too many females in a predominantly male profession. So I learned to stand […]

November 1, 2013   Posted in: Uncategorized  15 Comments